NEWS: Anti-animal testing campaigners this morning (June 19) occupied MBR Acres, the UK's largest beagle breeding facility, to demand an end to animal testing in the UK by 2025. Five beagles were liberated in the days following the initial action, with three activists ultimately handing themselves in to police. (Updated June 22)

With live updates posted throughout the morning of June 19 to Animal Freedom Movement (AFM) social media, the group of 25 activists entered the facility and unveiled a banner reading "End Animal Testing."

In a statement provided to Surge, AFM stated it had two demands: the immediate closing down of the infamous Huntingdon facility and the safe rehoming of all the dogs; and that the British government urgently phase out animal testing, and the sale of animal-tested products, by 2025.

AFM said it plans to occupy the site until commitments are made to meet their demands by both MBR management and The British Government. At the time of writing, the action was still underway but with around 12 arrests made by police.

In a video seen by Surge, one protestor outside the facility appeared to be arrested for assault on a police officer after attempting to walk backwards through a police line. It is unknown whether the protestor was acting independently or as part of the AFM action.

The infamous Huntingdon facility has seen long-running protests held by Camp Beagle, which established a presence outside MBR in July 2021. A Government petition promoted by Camp Beagle, demanding a ban on commercial breeding for laboratories, currently stands at 43,000 signatures.

While it remains to be seen whether AFM’s demands to the UK government will be met, activists were able to enter the facilities and obtain pictures and video footage rarely captured of beagles in cages waiting to be sent to testing laboratories in other parts of the UK.

The day following the occupation, three activists from AFM - now known to be a project by the Extinction Rebellion-affiliated group Animal Rebellion, according to its Instagram - entered the facility once again and successfully liberated five beagles, before handing themselves into police.

"Using animals for testing is not only cruel, inhumane, and barbaric, it is completely unnecessary,” said Dillon Parsons, spokesperson for AFM. “There is no need for nearly three million painful and torturous tests on animals in the UK each year when we have technology that is more reliable and efficient. The UK claims to be a nation of animal lovers, we demand The Government and MBR show that to be true."

AFM acknowledged that many believe animal testing to be a necessary evil for the advancement of scientific research, the group referred to a parliamentary debate from February in which it was revealed by Martyn Day, MP for the Scottish National Party (SNP), and Wera Hobhouse of the Liberal Democrats, that 90 per cent of animal tests fail to provide any real benefit.

This sentiment is echoed within the wider British public, which is largely against animal testing or unaware of the laws surrounding animal testing. According to YouGov research released in 2021, “Britons tend to oppose testing medicines on animals, and overwhelmingly oppose testing cosmetics on animals”.

Drawing attention to a 2021 report in the Independent on the cost of protecting MBR by police: “It is obvious animal testing is not desired in the UK. With facilities like MBR Acres breeding somewhere between 1,600-2,000 beagle puppies yearly, all destined for intensely painful experimentation by the time they're 16 weeks old. Furthermore, protecting the Marshall BioResources facility from public opinion and protest is costing the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds.”

Rosa Sharkey, who was among those inside the facility, said: "The science is clear, our morals should be too, an end to animal testing is the only step forwards for the industry. MBR must do the right thing by closing its Cambridgeshire facility and rehoming the puppies they intend to send for death. The British government has a clear mandate from its people to end the barbaric practice of animal testing"

In 2020, 2.88 million instances of animal testing were recorded in the UK. 4,340 of these grotesque and reportedly unnecessary experiments were performed on dogs, with 4,270 of these on beagles like those bred and supplied to testing laboratories by MBR Acres. AFM said that the “procedures often result in vomiting, internal bleeding, organ damage and seizures; the tests can last for months, after which the dogs are killed.”

Peer-reviewed studies continue to conclude that the "collective harms and costs to humans from animal experimentation outweigh potential benefits and that resources would be better invested in developing human-based testing methods."

Animal testing in the UK continues despite the example set by government agencies in other countries that are proving the move away from animal testing and towards alternatives is feasible. In 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) committed to phasing out all animal testing by 2035. According to the Humane Society of the United States, the EPA also announced a $4.25 Million fund for the development of replacement tests including organ-on-a-chip technologies, cell cultures, computer modelling and other methods that are “faster, cheaper and more predictive than time-consuming animal tests”.

This landmark announcement should be a sign to other governments, including the British, that an end to animal testing is nigh.

How can you help?

AFM urges anyone who supports an end to animal testing to attend a peaceful demonstration outside The Home Office on Monday, June 27 at 4.30pm. Visit the Facebook event for more information.

Follow @animalfreedommovement on Instagram for more live updates and future actions.

Email your local Member of Parliament using AFM’s template.

Andrew Gough is Media and Investigations Manager at Surge Media.

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